Apparatus for removing collapsible tubes from supporting spindles



och 1950 F. REMINGTON ErAL 2,526,900

' APPARATUS FOR REMOVING COLLAPSIBLE TUBES mom SUPPORTING SPINDLES Filed Nov-.. 26, 1948 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 24, 1950 F. REMINGTON ETAL 2,526,900

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING COLLAPSIBLE TUBES FROM SUPPORTING SPINDLES Filed Nov. 26, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 24, 1950 F. REMINGTON ETAL 2,526,900

APPKRATUS FOR REMOVING COLLAPSIBLE TUBES FROM SUPPORTING SPINDLES s sneetsfsheei s BY fiagarczigz Patented Oct. 24, 1950 APPARATUS FOR REMOVING COLLAPSIBLE TUBES FROM SUPPORTING SPINDLES Frederic Remington, Elizabeth, and. Richard A.

Tartaglia, East Orange, N, J assignors to Peerless Tube Company, Bloomfield, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application November 26, 1948, Serial No. 62,062

T This invention relates in general to machines for handling collapsible tubes during the manufacture thereof, and in particular the invention contemplates; novel and improved means for removing collapsibletubesfrom the spindles or mandrels upon which they are supported and moved. from station to station for different operations upon the'tubes. i According to one known practice in the collapsible tubeindustry,.a tube supporting mandrel or spindle is provided having a main portion overwhich-the body of the partially completed tube is nicelygfitted, and a reduced end portion ofa diameter'slightly less than that of the internal diameter of the neck of the tube and having one 'or more segments of helical ribs of long pitch whichupon relative rotation of the tube and spindle in one direction are in efiect screwed into the neck of the vtube for hOlding the tube against rotation relatively to the spindle. 'Obvious ly the direction of rotation of the spindle during operations upon the tube is" such that resistance to rotation of the tube caused by the tools incident to said operations will tend to tighten the tube on the spindle.

According to one common practice, complicated and expensive mechanism is used to reverse the direction of rotation of the spindle and to hold the tube against rotation in such a manner as to unscrew or release the neck of the tube from the helical ribs on the spindle, and one object of my invention is to provide novel and improved relatively simple and inexpensive means for unscrewing or releasing a collapsible tube from the helical ribs of the spindle on which the tube is supported.

Another object is to provide apparatus which shall embody novel and improved features of construction for causing relative rotation of the tube such as to unscrew or release'the'neck of the 2 Claims. CI; 2938) tube from the helical ribs of the spindle and without stopping or reversing the direction of rotation of the spindle, so that the tube immediately thereafter can be slid longitudinally off the spindle.

Another object of the invention is to provide such apparatus whereby the neck of the tub can be removed, unscrewed or released from the mandrel while it is being moved from one station to another, and at the latter station the tube can be longitudinally slid or dismounted from the spindle, thereby to facilitate rapid operation of the tube-working machine. 3 A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus of this character which shall include means for momentarily rotating the collapsible tube relative to the spindle in the same direction as the rotation of the spindle to release the tube from the helical rib segment on the spindle.

' Other objects, advantages and results of the invention will be brought out by the following description with the accompanying drawings in which f Figure 1 is an end elevational View of apparatus embodying theinvention ShOWiIlg itin conjunction with a known type of tube-Working machine which is schematically illustrated in end elevation, showing the relative position of the tube-working apparatus and the tube-supporting spindle during removalofthe tube from the spindle andwhile the, spindle is moved from one station to, another; I r i L Figure 2 is a similar view with portions broken away but showingsthe. relative positions of the tube-removing "apparatus. and the tube-supportingspindles While the latter are stationary at the respective operating stations;

Figure 3 is-a-top plan view of the parts as illustrated in Figurel;

Figure. 4 is a side elevational view of the tube removing apparatus and" tube-workin machine asillustrated-in Figure l; 1 1

I Figure 5 is a View similar to Figure 4 but showing the tube unscrewed from the spindle and with parts omitted or broken away;

I'Figure .6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the parts illustrated in Figure 2 but with parts omitted,.and

v lligure l is-a greatly. enlarged fragmentary vertical longitudinal sectional view through a collapsible tube mounted on a spindle which is shown in side elevation. Specifically describing the illustrated embodimerit of the invention, th reference character A designates the turret frame'lof the tube-working machine in-whichis mounted for intermittent rotation a turret .or carrier disk B which is rotated in thedirection indicated by the arrow insteps by means well known in the art, so that the tube-supporting, spindles 0 carried by the turret canbe moved. in proper timed relation successively to different operating stations. The spindles are shown as being rotated about their axes, ,for example at a speed of about 1300 R. P. M. by means also known in the art. lhe nature of these. operating stations and the number of spindles are immaterial to the present invention but for the .purpose of illustration, there are' 'six spindlesyand at one station D t e p tiallycomplet'ed.collapsible tube is applied to ing station G to the tube removing station H, or

the tube could be unscrewed while the spindle is stationary and at another location.

As hereinbefore stated, the tube .is held against rotation relative to the spindle in one direction,

and as shown the spindle C has a reduced end portion K on which are a plurality of segments 2 of helical threads or ribs of long pitch, the hand or direction of which is such that when the tube is held against rotation on the spindle and the spindle is rotated in its normal direction, the neck 3 of the tube will in effect be screwed onto the reduced end portion I of the spindle.

The tube-removing apparatus is shown as comprising a friction disk 4 preferably of a diameter several times greater than a tube supporting spindle C and having a slightly resilient or yielding approximately cylindrical face 5 formed of for example leather. The friction disk '4 is mounted on a shaft 6 which is journaled in bearings I adjacent one end of a frame ,8 which is pivotally mounted at 9 on the base In of the machine or other suitable stationary support.v This frame is normally yieldingly influenced by any suitable means such as a spring HI so that the disk 4 is moved to locate its friction face 5 in the path of movement of the tube-carrying spindles between stations G and H, as best-shown in Figure 1; and an adjustable stop means [2 for the frame 8 is provided so that the face 5 of the disk is normally held in such position as to lightly frictionally contact the surface of a collapsible tube on a spindle while the latter ismoving between said stations G and H.

The disk 4 is rotated in the direction opposite to that of the spindle C and at a peripheral speed slightly greater than the peripheral speed of the surface of the tube on the spindle, so that when the surface of the tube contacts with the disk 4, the tube will be momentarily rotated relatively to the spindle so as to unscrew or release the neck of the tube from the helical ribs 2 on the spindle as shown in Figure 5, and to facilitate this operation, the shaft Sis journaled with its axis of rotation at a slight angle, for example to the axis of rotation of the tube supporting spindle as best shown in Figure 4 whereby the face 5 of the disk 4 produces a helical or screw effect on the tube tending to cause simultaneous rotating and longitudinal movement of the tube.

The disk may be driven by any suitable means, for example by a gearing connection with the driving shaft of the tube-working machine, or a separate drive may be provided. As shown, the drive mechanism includes an electric motor 13 which is connected to a speed reducing mechanism M the output shaft 1 5 of which has a pulley l6 that is connected by a belt I! to a pulley l8 on the disk shaft 6. A suitable belt tightener 19 may also be provided.

After each tube has been unscrewed from the spindles it is longitudinally slid off by any suitable mechanism. For the purpose of illustra tion, I have shown a generallyknown type of apparatus which includes a support-guide bar 20 4 supported at one end on the turret frame A and its other end on a suitable bracket 2| which may form a part of the frame of the machine. This bar is horizontally disposed slightly above and approximately parallel to the spindle C at the tube-removing station H, and longitudinally slidably mounted on the bar is an operating sleeve 22 which is reciprocated in proper timed relation to the presentation of a spindle to the station H, by a link 23 having a driving connection with the driving mechanism of the machine. A pusher .24 which has two right angularly disposed arms has one arm pivotally connected at 25 to the sleeve 22 so that the pusher may swing in a vertical plane to move the extremity of its other arm into and out of engagement with the spindle at the station H inwardly of the scrap end L of the tube as best shown in Figure 6.

For vertically swinging the pusher, .it is pivotallyconnected by a link26 to a friction device 21 that comprises a tubular body 28 encircling the support-guide rod 20 and having a friction pad 29 carried thereby and normally pressed by a spring 30 into engagement with the support-. guide rod.

In operation, normally the parts are in the position shown inFigure 4 with the pusher 24 lifted out of the path of movement .of the spindles C, and when a spindle bearing a tube is moved 'to the stationI-I, the sleeve 22 is pushed to the left in Figure 4 and the friction device 24 being frictionally .held against movement, the pusher will be actuated downwardly into contact with the spindle and behind the edge of the scrap .L which has been trimmed from the tube .at the station F. The pusher is then moved further in the same direction until both the tube and the scrap have been slid off the spindle as shown by broken lines in Figure 6, whereupon the sleeve 22 is actuated in the other direction and the drag caused by the friction device 21-will lift the pusher 2 again out of the, path of movement of the spindles and further movement of the sleeve will cause it and the friction device to return to the initial -or normal position shown in Figure 4.

The tubes when they are removed from the spindles may be handled in any suitable manner, but as shown, the tubes as they are freed from the spindle are deposited by gravity into a chute 3| which may direct the tubes to any suitable point, for example an endless conveyor or a collecting receptacle, while the scrap ends L drop into a scrap pile.

While we have shown and described the invention in vconjunction with a multiple spindle tube-working machine, it should be understood that the tube removing apparatus can be used with single spindles and wherever it may be desired to remove a tube from a spindle. Moreover, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the details of construction of the apparatus may be widely modified and changed within the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. The combination with a support, a cylindrical spindle mounted thereon for slidably supporting a tube and having segments of helical ribs to engage and hold said tube against rotation relatively to said spindle in one direction, and means continuously rotating said spindle in the other direction, of means for removing saidtube from said spindl including a friction disc td frictionally engage the outer surface of said tube and means for revolving said friction disc at a means for continuously rotating said spindle in 10 the other direction, of means for removing said tube from said spindle including a friction disc, means mounting said friction disc for rotation about an axis that is approximately parallel and at an angle respectively to perpendicularly related axial planes of said spindle to frictionally engage the outer surfaces of said tube and rotate and simultaneously move said tube relatively to said spindle upon rotation of said friction disc, and means for driving said friction disc at a higher peripheral speed than and in the direction opposite to that in which said tube is rotated by said spindle.

FREDERIC REMINGTON. RICHARD A. TARTAGLIA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this vpatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 15 Re. 19,578 Prussing May 21, 1935 1,963,280 Prussing June 19, 1934 2,155,316 Lauterbach Apr. 18, 1939 2,441,525 Zesbaugh May 11, 1948 

